In March, 7-year-old Montannah Kenney made history as the youngest girl ever to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
The reason why she wanted to scale the 19,341-foot volcano in Tanzania? To be closer to her father, who died in 2013, Weather.com reported.
"We've always talked about her dad being in heaven, and we always talk about her dad being above the clouds — that's where heaven is," Montannah's mother, Hollie Kenney, told the site in early April. "And I think mountains are very intriguing to her because a lot of them are above (clouds)."
Before embarking on their adventure, the duo trained for months by doing hourslong hikes around Austin, Texas, where they live. Even so, they weren't entirely prepared for the rain, hail, and freezing temperatures they faced during the long climb to Mount Kilimanjaro's summit, an endeavor that took them 6-1/2 days to complete.
Kenneh later learned the weather conditions they encountered were especially harsh, according to Weather.com.
When I called the Tanzania office [later] to talk to them, they said to me, 'We heard you had the worst weather in 10 years,'" Kenneh said.
And no one ever alluded to that when we were up there. We just figured it was normal and it was something we had to deal with, but the weather was terrible."
Kenney started planning the trip with her adult sister a few years ago, but Montannah quickly volunteered when her aunt backed out.
Although the mother and daughter are both experienced triathletes, Kenneh approached the new plan with extra caution, both before and during the climb. She talked to a doctor for tips on how Montannah could scale the mountain carefully, and was prepared to head back down if Montannah experienced any altitude sickness or other issues.
Luckily, a slow and steady approach helped them get to the top with no major concerns, according to Weather.com.
Montannah and her mom completed the climb in part to raise money for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, a type of therapy that's commonly used with trauma survivors. Montannah's dad had just begun EMDR therapy when he died.
Considering the low oxygen levels at the volcano's peak — successful climbers can only spend minutes there — Montannah celebrated her achievement the best way she could.
I blew kisses at Dad so he knew I was there," the 7-year-old told The Austin American-Statesman.
The group Climb Mount Kilimanjaro certified Montannah's record shortly after her climb. We're impressed!
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